Star Ocean: Material Trader Announced; Is A Social Game

It’s already been a few years since the release of the last Star Ocean title, but it’s making a return—this time as a social card game RPG for GREE, called Star Ocean: Material Trader, where you’ll be collecting cards based off characters and items from the franchise. Series producer Yoshinori Yamagishi will also be in charge of the upcoming mobile game.

The game takes place in the space calendar year 5xx. The main character finds himself on the planet Noutis and must help out Tina, a researcher of the organization Ouroboros, who seems to have gotten herself into trouble. Your journey will consist of going on journeys to find “Star Shards” as a way to help her out, while collecting as many cards and materials possible in order to survive in the ocean of stars.

You’ll be progressing through the game’s story by completing quests, accumulating experience and money. The familiar Item Creation system seen in past Star Ocean titles will also be a part of the game.

The Item Creation feature will be used to create powerful accessories that can be equipped onto your cards, making them much stronger than before. This feature allows you to get standard cards and making them much more powerful, so you won’t have to worry too much if your favorite character card is low-ranked.

In addition, players who register in advance will acquire a special card of Peppita Rossetti (SR-rank) from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

Star Ocean: Material Trader will be developed by Hippos Lab, Square Enix’s smartphone division, who were also in charge of developing Circle of Mana, another social game for GREE. The game is expected to be released sometime this year for iOS and Android devices.